See You Next Year!

"Group hug!" That was part of my final day teaching before starting my Fulbright. Like they say, "priceless." Gave out my blog info and hope the students will check-in on me. So, given it was a "last day" of sorts, I did end up teaching an awesome lesson on delineating a character in a short story. At bell-ring, said "Bye, see you next year," giggle, giggle, as only 11 year-olds can do at dumb, old jokes. True, some shyly shook my hand because it isn't "cool" to hug your teacher or maybe it just isn't, well, something that is supposed to happen anymore sadly, well . . . but that group hug-- a spontaneous giddy, good-bye-mosh-pit next to the doc camera and media cart.

I promised to bring everyone back a British penny: " Will it be worth lots of money here?" "Yea, it'll be worth 2CENTS here." "Dang--oh well." Hey--I have to bring back 175 souvenirs! What better than a shiny penny for good luck? Everyone needs a good luck penny.

In teaching we are told things like, "Remember, they may forget what you say, but they will remember what you DO--and what they DO." So, today was a day to remember. A final day that was a good ending--and a good beginning at the same time.

Now home and feeling the nervous excitement that goes with adventure--a juxtaposition of happy/anxious. Saturday is booked solid with "things to do": prescriptions, pedicure, buttons on the overcoat,and actually, filing in my classroom. Shhhh! Don't tell that today really wasn't my "last day" since I have to be doing classroom filing tomorrow.

In Brazil, they have a word: saudade, which is the feeling of emptiness in missing what should be there and that one longs for-- the feeling "saudade" even gets its own day: January 30. For me, it is tomorrow: I will be filing alone and feeling saudade--the group hug still warming my heart.